The Silent Epidemic: Understanding and Addressing Sleep Deprivation in Students
Introduction
Chronic sleep deprivation is a pervasive issue affecting a significant portion of the student population, from adolescents to college students. This article explores the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to this widespread problem, drawing upon research and expert opinions to provide a comprehensive understanding of sleep deprivation in students.
The Scope of the Problem
Multiple studies have revealed that the vast majority of teenagers today are living with borderline to severe sleep deprivation. A 2010 study in The Journal of Adolescent Health found that only 8% of US high school students get the recommended amount of sleep. Some 23% get six hours of sleep on an average school night and 10% get only 5 hours. This lack of sleep is not a normal part of being a teenager but rather an invisible epidemic that requires attention.
Daytime sleepiness, sleep deprivation, and irregular sleep schedules are highly prevalent among college students, as 50% report daytime sleepiness and 70% attain insufficient sleep.
Why Students Stay Up Late
Teenagers stay up late for three main reasons. First, biological shifts in the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone, make teens stay up later. Second, social media can keep kids up, and blue light from devices suppresses melatonin production. Third, having a lot of homework can keep kids up late.
Biological Factors
Adolescence is characterized by changes in behavior and sleep homeostasis with modifications in the circadian rhythms that may undergo phase delay and a slowing of homeostatic sleep pressure. Along with the more obvious hormonal changes that transform a child into a teen, are shifts in the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone. That is why a teenager actually seems more awake at midnight than at dinner and, left alone, would probably sleep until ten or eleven. Effectively, they are in a different time zone than the rest of us. The typical high school student’s natural time to fall asleep is 11pm or later.
Read also: Addressing Sleep Disorders
Technology and Blue Light
Electronics emit a glow called blue light that has a particular frequency. When it hits receptors in the eye, those receptors send a signal to the brain which suppresses the production of melatonin and keeps kids from feeling tired. And adolescents are low on melatonin and start producing it later to begin with. Teens who are up late writing papers on computers or chatting with their friends are effectively creating an even more stimulating environment that will only keep them from being able to fall asleep when they want to.
Academic and Extracurricular Pressures
We live in a culture that values activity over sleep, and there is no part of that culture that reinforces that idea more than the college admissions process. Teens are constantly being told that they have to be “well-rounded,” which, in an age when colleges are becoming ever more selective, means that the more they do, the better their applications will look. The result is an ever-narrowing window for sleep. The reasons are multiple but when you add together 45 minutes of homework per class per night, plus a few extra-curricular activities, plus the downtime spent everyday watching a John Green video on YouTube or chatting with friends, and a normal amount of procrastination, it adds up to between 5 and 7 hours of sleep on an average school night. Throw in a term paper or heavy exam week and the average can easily drop to 3 or 4.
The Consequences of Sleep Deprivation
With more than half of American teenagers living with chronic sleep deprivation, parents and teachers tend to overlook the profound effects it has on kids’ physical, mental, and behavioral health. The consequences of sleep deprivation and daytime sleepiness are especially problematic to college students and can result in lower grade point averages, increased risk of academic failure, compromised learning, impaired mood, and increased risk of motor vehicle accidents.
Academic Performance
Studies have shown a tight link between school performance and sleep. Adolescents who get less sleep than they need are at higher risk for depression, suicide, substance abuse, and car crashes. They don't perform as well in school. "There are data that sleep loss leads to learning and memory impairment, as well as decreased attention and vigilance,” says Dr. Kushida. “In the student-age population, studies have found that factors such as self-reported shortened sleep time, erratic sleep/wake schedules, late bed and rise times, and poor sleep quality have been found to be negatively associated with school performance for adolescents from middle school through college. Students who stay up late on school nights and make up for it by sleeping late on weekends are more likely to perform poorly in the classroom.
Physical and Mental Health
Adolescents’ sleep patterns have been investigated as a biunivocal cause for potential damaging conditions, in which insufficient sleep may be both a cause and a consequence of mental health problems. The sleep deficit is not in fact, a normal part of being a teenager.
Read also: Restful Sleep Guide
Long-term effects of student sleep deprivation include a high risk of obesity. In one study, each additional hour of sleep decreased the chance of obesity by 40 percent. These risks occur because inadequate sleep commonly results in greater calorie intakes. Sleep deprivation may result in mental and/or emotional dysfunctions including depression and low self-esteem. While sleep deprivation does not directly cause depression, getting too little sleep can make depression worse.
Risk-Taking Behaviors
Researchers indicate that there is a direct link between insomnia and risk-taking behaviors such as smoking, delinquency, driving when sleep deprived, and/or drinking and driving.
Addressing Sleep Deprivation: Potential Solutions
Promotion of university and college policies and class schedules that encourage healthy and adequate sleep could have a significant impact on the sleep, learning, and health of college students.
Adjusting School Start Times
Multiple studies have shown that high school students aren’t functional before 9 am. A growing number of psychologists, among other professionals, have felt so strongly about the data that they've started leading efforts to push back middle and high school start times. When a Jackson Hole, Wyoming, high school pushed its start time back from 7:35 to 8:55, students' grades in their first-period classes improved significantly.
Promoting Sleep Hygiene
Sleep hygiene encourages habits conducive to restorative sleep and avoidance of substances or behaviors that are not. Good sleep hygiene includes a regular sleep-wake schedule, a quiet sleep environment, and avoidance of caffeine after lunch and stimulating activities before bed.
Read also: 6 Hours of Sleep: Is It Enough?
Reducing Screen Time
A second large cause of adolescent sleep deprivation is the use of screens such as television, computers, and cell phones. By limiting screen time before bed, students will be able to achieve sleep faster and maintain better sleep hygiene. Students should be taught not to use screens before bed and should never take their screens, such as cell phones, to bed with them.
Encouraging Naps
If you take a nap, then keep it brief.
Addressing Homework Load and Extracurricular Activities
Many schools have chosen to follow the example of Minneapolis Public Schools and adapt their starting times to accommodate adolescent sleep schedules. Other schools have chosen to address other issues such as too much homework, afterschool activities, and student stress. All of these changes are driven by the debilitating effects of sleep deprivation among students.
Global Perspectives on Sleep Deprivation
Though the 24/7 culture of much of the United States certainly contributes to adolescent sleep problems, American teenagers aren’t the only kids who suffer the effects of sleep deprivation. Many studies have shown that sleep deprivation and the effects associated with it are common to adolescents no matter what their nationality. What effects does this sleep deficit have on teens internationally? In China, a study of 1,538 adolescents revealed that regular nightly sleep of less than seven hours was significantly associated with increased behavior problems. In Italy, a study by Flavia Giannotti of 14-to 20-year-olds showed a correlation between increased daytime sleepiness, increased vulnerability to accidents, increased use of stimulants and tobacco, sleep problems, and anxiety.
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